Lawrence County Teen Outreach Program (TOP) Helps Launch Health Department’s Zika Response for 2016 

During the next several weeks the high school students in both of Lawrence County’s TOP clubs, the Alt Crew and the Bulldog Battalion, are distributing valuable  information as how you can help protect your family by securing your house and property from Zika Mosquito infestation.

Their efforts are the first in  a multi-faceted strategy developed by the Department for Public Health to  educate and help protect the residents of Lawrence County from a Zika threat this Spring/Summer. The CDC (Center for Disease Control) states that  pregnant women can pass Zika virus to her fetus during pregnancy. Zika is a cause of microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects.

The type of mosquito that carries the virus is projected to infiltrate our region this Spring/Summer. With no vaccination available at this time, protection against the spread of the Zika Mosquito is our best strategy.

All of us need to work together to minimalize the impact of this new health threat. The Teen Outreach Program TOP Clubs have taken the lead in many health and wellness campaigns during the past four years. Please join their effort in fight against Zika infestation. Special thanks to Sharon Parson, Alternative School Director, and Major Gary Siembor, Senior Army Instructor, Lawrence County High School for supporting the Teen Outreach Program.

For more information on the spread and impact of Zika, or if you would like to help us in our anti-Zika initiative please contact the Lawrence County Health Department at 606-638-4389. Please ask to speak to Ron Enders, Preparedness Planner or Tanya Horn, Environmentalist and Coordinator of the Lawrence County Epidemiology Rapid Response Team (ERRT).